As a horse owner, trainer and judge himself he combines his two passions, horses and law. Stephan Wensing recognized
the need for an attorney who was knowledgeable in legal issues affecting equestrians. Stephan Wensing offers a full-service litigation firm that specializes in
equine-related transactions and dispute resolution throughout Europe.

Latent defects

Europe is big in horse cases. Many horses are
sold abroad.

It is therefore not surprising that many
sales disputes arise in Europe. Many foreign buyers
have to deal with European equine law.Although there is no specific equine law in the Code, even next to specialized equine lawyers, more judges are specialized in equine
law cases as well. Recentely I found out that a cousin from
Coby van Baalen is a Judge in civil procedures as well and that he also has affinity with horses. This is a very pleasant fact, knowing that a judge also
understands the jargon. Most cases concern the horse sale
disputes. But what is that exactly? A horse is tried,
tested, examined and the test results are often also seen by a local veterinarian. At first sight there is almost nothing to worry about.The reality is quite different. In practice the buyer does not know what happened with the
horse before buying it. The horse can be
prepared. That is not easy to find out. A
difficult horse can be made tired and a slightly lame horse can be hold in the stable for a few days. All to mask problems.Anyway, there is a vet
check. But what does this inspection mean? The clinical examination is a snapshot. That can be different the other day. And on the assessment of X rays I can write a book full of
pages. And
further more then half of the horse will be forgotten like an examination of the neck, the shoulders and the loins. Besides the vet check
doesn’t include an examiniation under sadle and that is most striking, while the horse just as a riding horse is
purchased. In short it can happen easily that the horse shows veterinary problems after the purchase, such that
it is no longer appropriate. I mean not suitable as a riding horse anymore. And then a lengthy court case can arise. In Holland, the consumer is protected from the
professional horse trader. For example, if a horse is observed ataxia within six months after buying, while this was not visible during the sales, there is
a statutory presumptive evidence, and the seller must prove that the horse did not ataxia suffering before the sale and that is obviously verydifficult because ataxia can be a progressive process. And what about tendon injuries? These are not visible on an X-ray. Old tendon injuries can flare up again during intensive use. The misery is incalculable. In practice, I often notice that the defects are discovered after delivery within a short period of
time. The buyer feels cheated and that is not always
correct. A horse is
a living entity and a vendor could not give lifetime warranty.The Faculty in Utrecht, one of the most prominent veterinary universities in Europe, has already
determined that a horse is susceptible to change of feed, care and training. During that period, previously hidden defects appeared
visible. I hope ‘Totilas’ was not in above category
....